Rose chafers, also commonly called flower chafers, are members of the family Scarabaeidae, and more specifically belong to the subfamily Cetoniinae (often raised to the level of family - Cetoniidae).
They have gained their name from the habit many species have of frequenting flowers to feed on nectar and pollen. They can be identified as scarabs by their distinctive antennae, which end in a three-leaved, openable club, and by their stocky build. The main morphological features which place them in the Cetoniinae are their clypeus, which leave the antennal insertion of their 10 segmented antennae visible from above, but hide the mandibles, and the form of their mesothoracic epimeres, which are visible as two triangular shaped structures between the hind angles of the pronotum and each elytron. The sides of the elytra are also notched behind the shoulder, and their structure allows the membranous hind wings to be deployed laterally by slightly raising the elytra without needing to open them.
Perhaps the most notable of all the features of the rose chafers is their magnificent colouration, which is often metallic and beautifully shining, reflecting the most gorgeous of colours and sometimes complemented by markings. Even Europe, which has a poor number of species compared to the tropics, can boast some truly beautiful members of the group.
The adult beetles are most often collected whilst they feed at flowers, but several species are attracted to mature and rotting fruit and to sap seeping from wounds in trees, and at least one species is quite commonly also found under dung! Their favoured habitat seems to be the edges of woods, or clearings within them. They prefer warm and sunny weather, so are seldomly found in the darkness of thick forest.
The larval stages develop in decomposing vegetable matter of all kind, from rotten logs and stumps to compost heaps, but at least one species is thought to be able to develop in the nests of Wood ants (Formica rufa). Once the larva is fully grown, it constructs a cocoon from debris and pupates within it, from whence the imago emerges the following summer.